The update rate for Partial Update is determined by the temperature dependent stage time. For 25 degrees C a typical max update rate for the 2.7" display is about 1.5 Hz.
The stage time decreases as the measured temperature increases. For some applications a faster update rate can be useful. This can be achieved by setting the stage time directly bypassing the normal temperature dependent setting of the stage time. This is the same mechanism as used in the Pervasive Displays Windows application for the TI Launchpad and the EXT2 development board (http://www.pervasivedisplays.com/kits/ext2_kit).
Decreasing the stage time increases the max update rate. If the stage time gets too small some ghosting (left overs from the previous image) will occur. Depending on the application some ghosting may be acceptable.
This implementation uses the 'F' command to do a Fast Update using the stage time as set in /dev/epd/f_stage_time.
A video demonstrating the normal Partial Update and Fast Update for various stage times is
available on YouTube.
This partial update implementation follows the algorithm outlined in the discussion of issue #19 on the repaper/gratis github repository.
The original code in epd_fuse.c and V231G2/epd.c under PlatformWithOS did a full 4 cycle display update including COG power on and COG power down sequence. This resulted in the update taking more than 3 seconds with the display first showing the updated image, then the original image followed finally by the updated image. This made things like a clock, counters and 'game of life' look very bad.
Following changes as outlined in issue #13:
- in epd_fuse.c run_command() do not call EPD_end() at the end of the 'P' command (only if partial update is supported by the display)
- in epd.c introduce COG_on status variable in EPD_struct.
- in epd.c EPD_begin() return immediately when COG_on is true
- in epd.c EPD_begin() set COG_on to true at the end of the function.
- in epd.c EPD_end() set COG_on to false at the end of the function.
- in epd.c EPD_partial_image() only call the last stage (EPD_normal).
With these changes you can get a proper partial display update frequency < 1 Hz.
For a YouTube video showing the difference between before and after the fix see https://youtu.be/dciaFRKtetU
Updated 2015-08-01 by Rei Vilo
- Added
#include Energia.h - For Energia, changed pin names to pin numbers (pin names are deprecated)
- Works on MSP430F5529, LM4F120, TM4C123
- Fails on MSP432 and CC3200
- Recognize the FPL material type by the rear labels
- Use branch rei-vilo / gratis / CC3200 and MSP432
- The master supports MSP432 but not with direct connection as Energia startup code allocates one pin as not GPIO
These are example programs that will compile and run on the following platforms
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Arduinos with the embedded USB controller ('Un' suffix) do not have a real serial port, it is emulated using firmware and uses the USB interface.
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Arduino Loenardo uses one of these chips.
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The Command program needs the serial to accept commands so it will wait indefinitely for the serial monitor to be opened before doing any display. (the additional delay code is commented out)
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The Demo, Flash Loader and Thermo programs do no need serial port to accept commands, it is display only. The additional delay is used and the indefinite wait is commented out. Therefore on a Leonardo to see the initial messages open the serial monitor before uploading. If the serial monitor is not open these programs will now automatically start.
Contains an example driver and Python demo programs that can be compiled and run on:
These are other projects on GitHub or other sites, please check them out. (If you have a project, let us know an we will add a link here)
- https://github.com/aerialist/repaper_companion - Companion software for rePaper. Resize image and convert to XBM format.
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Gratis is a Repaper.org repository, initiated by E Ink and PDI for the purpose of making sure ePaper can go everywhere.